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‘No Jews’ Job Ad in France Sparks Anger

A French anti-racism organisation on Tuesday filed an official complaint for discrimination after a company published a job ad online looking for a computer graphics designer who "if possible" is "not Jewish."

The job description, which was published Monday on specialized website www.graphic-jobs.com by graphic design agency NSL Studio and has since been removed, sparked a furore on the Internet.

The company has distanced itself from "the anti-Semitic comments that were published on February 2, 2015 on the site," it says on its website, where it also announced having filed a complaint so that a probe can determine "who is responsible for this publication."

"NSL Studio is an agency of integrity that does not discriminate," it said, adding that "the person in charge of the ad will be questioned, a probe launched and the necessary measures taken if it turns out that it really came from us."

NSL Studio had earlier said on its Twitter account that its job ad had been hacked.

SOS Racisme spokeswoman Aline Kremer told AFP: "This is a proven case of public discrimination based on the real or supposed belonging to a race, ethnic group or religion, which is punishable by law."

The organisation has filed a complaint against persons unknown until a probe determines exactly who is responsible.

The specialized jobs website, meanwhile, has apologized, saying its moderators had failed to notice the ad for around 35 minutes before it was deleted.

It comes as French Jews face record levels of anti-Semitism, and on the heals of last month's deadly attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris, in which four Jewish shoppers were murdered by a Muslim terrorist.

France is home to the largest Jewish community in Europe – and the third largest in the world after Israel and the United States – but increasing numbers are choosing to emigrate, primarily to Israel, in the face of growing anti-Semitism.